the furnishing of data concerning the operation or output of a machine to an automatic control device or to the machine itself, so that subsequent or ongoing operations of the machine can be altered or corrected.

a reaction or response to a particular process or activity: He got very little feedback from his speech.

evaluative information derived from such a reaction or response: to study the feedback from an audience survey.

Psychology. knowledge of the results of any behavior, considered as influencing or modifying further performance.Compare biofeedback.

Biology. a self-regulatory biological system, as in the synthesis of some hormones, in which the output or response affects the input, either positively or negatively.

positive feedback

feedback

noun

the return of part of the output of an electronic circuit, device, or mechanical system to its input, so modifying its characteristics. In negative feedback a rise in output energy reduces the input energy; in positive feedback an increase in output energy reinforces the input energy

that part of the output signal fed back into the input

the return of part of the sound output by a loudspeaker to the microphone or pick-up so that a high-pitched whistle is produced

the whistling noise so produced

the effect of the product of a biological pathway on the rate of an earlier step in that pathway

the substance or reaction causing such an effect, such as the release of a hormone in a biochemical pathway

information in response to an inquiry, experiment, etcthere was little feedback from our questionnaire

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verb, adverbfeed back

(tr)to return (part of the output of a system) to its input

to offer or suggest (information, ideas, etc) in reaction to an inquiry, experiment, etc

feedback

positive feedback

Feedback in which the output quantity or signal adds to the input quantity or signal. Positive feedback is responsible for the squealing of microphones when placed too close to the speaker through which their input signals are amplified. Compare negative feedback.

feedback

A process in which a system regulates itself by monitoring its own output. That is, it “feeds back” part of its output to itself. Feedback is used to control machines; a heating system, for example, uses a thermostat to monitor and adjust its output. Feedback is also used by the human brain to control various muscles and joints.

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Note

By extension, “feedback” is any response or information about the result of a process.